The Rhode Island Supreme Court Domestic Violence Training and Monitoring Unit (DV Unit) was formed with the passage of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act in 1988 and placed under the administration of the State Court Administrator. The DV Unit's principal responsibilities are the development, printing, dissemination, and collection of the legislatively mandated Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault (DV/SA) Reporting Form for the purpose of establishing accurate data on the extent and severity of domestic violence, sexual assaults, and child molestation incidents which include arrests and non-arrests.
As mandated, all law enforcement that respond to or investigate any case of domestic violence, sexual assault, or child molestation must complete a DV/SA Reporting Form. The forms are delivered to the DV Unit and are entered into a database that stores the information on all cases and provides statistics that are used by law enforcement and many research outlets.